Cajun Deep Fried Turkey

One of my favorite cooking ideas is to deep fat fry our turkey for the holidays or New Year’s parties. My wife loves it when I cook; gives her time to do the other baking and cooking while I prepare the main dish.

Ingredients

12-15 lbs turkey

1 1/2 cups Italian dressing

1 stick butter

1 handful Cajun seasonings

Peanut oil, amount depending on size of turkey

Garlic powder and onion powder to taste

Directions

Step 1

Two days prior to cooking: Defrost turkey. Although not recommended by the FDA, when I have forgotten to take it out early enough, I have successfully thawed it in warm water in the sink - draining and refilling as water turns cool.

Step 2

Evening prior: Strain Italian dressing to catch items too big for the injector needle. Melt a stick of butter and add to the strained dressing.

Step 4

Add onion powder and garlic powder to taste. You can also purchase Cajun Injector seasoning from the store.

Step 5

Use injector to inject marinade into the breasts, thighs, and wings. Stick the needle all the way in. As you slowly pull out, slowly press and inject spices into the turkey. Inject from multiple angles for maximum coverage. The more you use, the juicier the turkey will be when you cook it. Also, rub seasoning on the outside of the turkey, under the skin, and the inside cavity as well.

Step 6

Place turkey, legs up, on holder and place inside plastic oven roasting bag. Keep overnight in an ice chest with a little ice.

Step 7

Morning of: Fill fryer approximately 1/3 with oil (You don't need peanut oil, but once you try it, you won't use anything else. It also smokes less).

Step 8

Dip turkey while in the plastic bag in oil and fill or drain as needed. Oil should just cover the top of turkey. Ensure you have a hole at the top of the plastic bag, otherwise the bag will expand with air and you will not get an accurate reading. Take turkey out of oil and place back in cooler.

An alternative is to use water the previous day prior to seasoning/injecting turkey. Place turkey in a plastic bag and then place in the pot. Pour water into pot until bagged turkey is fully submerged. Remove turkey, mark the water level, empty water, dry and pour oil to that spot.

Step 9

Heat oil to 375°-400°F. It takes approximately 30 minutes. Remove turkey from plastic wrap and place in oil. Oil should drop to 350°. Ensure you keep the temperature between 325°-350°F, but the closer to 350°F the better. Cook 2-3 minutes per pound. Never, ever cover pot with lid! You will have much more on your hands than a "smokin' Cajun turkey."

You may cook a larger turkey, but most cookers can't handle more than 20 pounds. The largest one I cooked was 21 pounds, but it barely fit in the pot and made cooking the very tip extremely tricky.

Step 10

Remove and let the turkey rest before carving. According to Emeril, the best way to carve is to pull the legs, wings and thighs off; then undercut the breast following the bone to the center and then slice.

Average Member Rating

Rate this recipe

11 people rated this recipe

167,066 views

Related Recipes:

Shortcut Chicken Fricassee

Pork and Potato Stew – Fricassee

Crockpot Corn Macque Choux

Turkey in a Roaster Oven

Momma’s Sunday Chicken

RealCajunRecipes.com is devoted to building the largest and most accurate collection of Cajun recipes handed down from one Cajun cook to another. If you are from or have lived in Acadiana and have some Cajun recipes, feel free to share them with the world!...

Our Real Cajun Cookbook

Our cookbook is packed with 350 classic Cajun recipes such as gumbo, boudin, etouffee, cush cush, beignets, fried frog legs, fried turkey, bread pudding and many more of the recipes for which Cajuns are famous.